I’m starting to understand a dilemma that I’m sure wives everywhere have battling for ages: how do you manage eating “light” while also cooking appetizing meals for a husband who couldn’t care less about health food? Alex is blessed with good genes and a metabolism that still hasn’t caught up with him–I’m pretty sure he’ll still be super thin eating Nutella by the spoonful at age 50. Needless to say, he isn’t thrilled by the idea of replacing his morning pain au chocolat with oatmeal or his hamburger steaks with grilled fish.
That’s why, when I’m making dinner, I’ll often make two versions of the same dish, like I did with this eggplant parmesan recipe. It’s an extra step or two, but it doesn’t take too much more time and it keeps everybody happy. For the lighter eggplant parmesan, I simply roasted the eggplant and skipped the breading step. I filled half of the baking dish with the roasted eggplant and the other half with the breaded eggplant, then served Alex’s portion with pasta and ate mine with green beans.
Baked Eggplant Parmesan for two (adapted from Martha Stewart)
Olive oil
1 egg
1 T milk
1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan plus 2 tablespoons for topping
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
Salt and pepper
1 large eggplant (300 g), peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1.5 cups tomato or pasta sauce
1 ball mozzarella, shredded
1) Sprinkle eggplant rounds with salt and place on a drying rack for at least 30 minutes to remove bitterness.
2) Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (400 F). Brush baking sheet with oil; set aside.
3) In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together egg and milk. In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, oregano, and basil; season with salt and pepper.
4) Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture, letting excess drip off, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture, coating well; place on baking sheets. Bake until golden brown on bottom, 20 minutes.
5) Turn slices; continue baking until browned on other side, 20 minutes more. Remove from oven.
6) Spread half the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Arrange the eggplant in the dish, then cover with the rest of the sauce and mozzarella. Sprinkle with parmesan.
7) Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted, 5 minutes + 5 minutes under the broiler to brown. Let stand for a few minutes before serving. Serve with pasta, rice, or vegetables.
Serves 2
The Baguette Diet 